Rick and Ren: The Last Night
by Lantentine
Summary: An interpretation of what Ren and Rick did on that final night together before Rick when off to join the army - or more basically what 'messed around' really meant.


"What?" Rick insists, familiar with how Ren likes to make him beg before telling him any surprises. This time however he knows something is different, Ren's façade of casual indifference is breaking quickly and he can no longer suppress a smile. "Come on, spill the beans! Is this about art school...?"

"Maybe..." Ren replies, voice cracking with excitement, avoiding his eyes, fiddling with the laces of his worn trainers.

"You got in?"

There is a brief pause, before the two of them make eye contact. Ren loses his will to tease when he sees the wide, expectant grin on Rick's face.

"Yes!"

Rick lets out a little roar of delight that startles Ren and launches himself at the smaller guy, tackling him backwards into the soft dry earth of the cave, knocking over the near-empty bottle of White Lightning in the process. They tussle, both radiating happiness for Ren's successes, trying to pin the other down, but after a minute or so their energy wanes. Rick, being stronger, invariably has won, and Ren lies underneath his body.

Their laughter dies away as they become aware of the other's proximity. It is a warm summer night and neither are wearing much beyond a t-shirt and shorts; Ren can feel the heat coming off Rick's body, the tautness of his muscles and the smell of fag smoke and cheap booze on his breath. Rick seems uncomfortable but makes no attempt to move.

"So when are you moving...?" he asks into the sound of their breathing, and Ren smiles at his bad attempt to change the topic of conversation. Warily, always warily for over anything 'gay' Rick can become as flighty as a deer, Ren shifts upwards to press his mouth against Ricks.

For a moment there is no response from the bigger lad. He lets it happen – a moment suspended on a thread where his sense of self that encompasses everything from what he likes in women to what his favourite football team is battles with the brutal honesty that he likes what is happening and doesn't want it to stop. One faction defeats the other and an instant, and to Ren's delight, Rick begins ferociously kissing back. Ren's senses are given more and more to process. Sweaty hands are roving over his arms and slipping into his t-shirt, and now he can taste the cigarettes and White Lightning as well as smell them as Rick's hot tongue wrestles with his own. Kissing Rick is always a messy experience as Rick seems to salivate like a dog, and Ren would tease him about it if he wasn't so sensitive about the 'being a fag' issue so Ren lets it pass and simply enjoys Rick's precious affection.

The kissing intensifies, surprising Ren. It isn't normally like this. Normally Rick would break off after thirty seconds and become furious with him and shove him away. He'd always slink back eventually and apologize to Ren and beg for it never to happen again and that it didn't mean anything but within a week Rick would be slamming him into the wall of his bedroom and pressing his mouth to Ren's like his life depended on it. This had been happening for six months. Ren felt his heart rate accelerating as he began to wonder if today was the day they took this further. Fantasies that had been gestating in Ren's mind for years, in any private moment in the shower or in his bed or in his dreams, flickered through his mind, making him hard.

With shaking hands he fumbles with the top button of Rick's blue plaid shirt: that Rick loves to wear and Ren loves because Rick wears it.

Rick breaks the kiss. "What are you doing?" he asks in a rough voice. Ren can hear the tremor in it, and knows that Rick's defences are still down.

He speaks carefully, making his intentions vague. Rick doesn't need to think about the act, he just needs to be guided in that direction. "Just having some fun."

The fear of rejection makes goosebumps form all over Ren's thighs and upper arms, but no such rejection comes. Ren pushes his fortune further, clutching Rick's hips and gently pushing him up and off him so he lies propped up against the walls of the cave. Ren settles in between his spread legs. It is much easier to do the buttons now – within thirty seconds he opens the fabric to reveal Rick's smooth muscular torso. For a moment Ren does nothing but stare and worship, love and sexual excitement temporarily overpowering. Rick's body is a rare sight – the bigger guy hates swimming and Roarton lacks a public pool. Rick's nipples are hard, and since the last time Ren had this view there is soft dark hair between his pectorals and the trail from above his belly-button to his groin has darkened.

Rick shifts under his scrutiny and Ren instinctively understands what to do. Reaching over, he flicks the switch on the torch and plunges them both into near-darkness, the only light being that of the dying sun coming in through the entrance up the tunnel. The metal clacks of Rick's belt and then the zipper of his shorts seem deafening in the dark as Ren clears the path down to the soft cotton of Rick's underwear. There is a throbbing lump and a wet patch and Ren is immeasurably delighted. He gently reaches into the hole into the front of Rick's boxers and eases out his dick. It is heavy and hot with blood from the very core of his body, and the tip is weeping pre-come.

Ren begins to lean down but fingers twine into his short hair and stop him, "Don't!" Rick bursts out. "I can't..." His sounds like he is having trouble speaking – Rick's windpipe is constricted with shame and desire.

The alcohol gives Ren dutch courage that he would never have sober. "It's okay Rick," he whispers, "Nobody will ever know. It will just be you and me."

"My dad will find out," Rick says, panic beginning to seep in, "He always finds out."

Ren doesn't let him hold the thought and gently leans down and takes Rick in his mouth. Rick, about to say something more, stutters loudly and despite the hot fingers in Ren's hair clenching compulsively, once again he simply lets it happen. Ren begins to move in a rhythm, moving his hands to rest on Rick's ribcage as moves up and down on his erection. Despite the moment, Ren's mind wonders, not for the first time, if Rick has had someone do this to him before. Rick was the best-looking boy in the area, and he had had girlfriends. Ren pushes the away the idea before it begins to corrode his mood. He focusses back on the present instead, on how Rick's chest is heaving; of the pulse of another human he can feel in his mouth; of the distinctive scent of Rick's warm, damp skin and pubic hair; of the hand on his own head that is just beginning to take control; of the ache of his own hard-on; of the tension in Rick's breathlessly attractive muscles.

Rick lets out a moan and Ren feels the muscles in his stomach clenching harder, and Ren knows that Rick is approaching his climax. Rick is clutching Ren's head with both hands now, moving him up and down harder and harder, and Ren lets him do it as he himself concentrates on not gagging and keeping his teeth away from the liquid hardness that is taking up most of his mouth.

"Ren..." Rick moans desperately, and Ren opens his eyes and looks up to see Rick flushed in what little light there is, looking more vulnerable and unguarded then Ren has ever seen him before. The eye-contact finishes what his mouth had started and the young man's entire body heaves, an action followed by the pulsing of his penis and the flow of hot, bitter liquid into Ren's mouth. Ren drinks it from him without thought, the true vile taste completely suppressed by the sweetness of knowing that it is Rick's.

The blow-job must have taken little over two minutes but Rick and Ren are sweating and breathing like they have just run a marathon. Ren squeezes and cleans the last of the come from Rick's penis and then lays back against the opposite wall of the tunnel, to watch quietly Rick recover from his orgasm and silently wonder if the favour will be returned to him.

A long silence passes.

"You didn't..." Rick says at length, unable to finish his sentence.

"You don't need to..." Ren begins but is stopped short by Rick suddenly scrambling onto his knees, hands roughly pulling Ren upright so he can pull the clothing off Ren's body. When Ren's own dick springs out of its confines Rick seems almost taken aback, as if he wasn't expecting Ren to be hard after all that had happened.

Rick looks at Ren, embarrassed, "Do you want me to... to..."

"Do what you like," Ren replies, wondering if he was dreaming and feeling much more powerful and experienced then Rick for the first time in their lengthy relationship. Rick always knew what he was doing and what he wanted, and Ren would follow his lead blindly. Trouble or danger meant nothing when he was with Rick.

Rick suddenly pulls Ren close with one hand, burying his face into his neck, whilst the other hand grasps Ren's erection. Rick's hand-job is so vigorous with passion and lack of experience that it is almost painful but Ren doesn't care. When his body starts to vibrate in anticipation of orgasm, Rick realises what is happening and awkwardly dips his entire body and tentatively wraps his mouth around the head of Ren's penis. The sensation finishes Ren and he comes silently into Rick's mouth.

After it is Ren's turn to recover from ejaculating, Rick sits upright again, looking dazed. Ren realises that this that this window of opportunity is closing rapidly once again, and presses his face against Rick's to kiss him. He can taste himself in Rick's mouth just as Rick can taste his own come in Ren's, but this only serves to hasten Rick's realisation of what he just did.

Rick shoves Ren away violently, sending Ren tumbling backwards, knocking his head on the rocky ceiling of the tunnel as he does so. "I'm not a faggot," he says savagely, more to himself than to Ren.

Ren realises it is over and does nothing but lie still against the cave floor and feel the throb now in his head and the sounds of Rick pulling and buckling up his shorts.

There is a abrupt pause.

"Ren? Ren?" Rick's voice is panicked. Ren feels sweaty hands paw his face, scrambling for his neck. "Ren!?"

"What?" Ren replies, confused by the outburst, and looks up to see Rick becoming visibly calmer directly overhead.

"I... I thought I might have hurt you... shoving you back... knocked you out. You weren't moving..." Rick looks suddenly abashed and Ren's heart nearly stops when the bigger guy stoops low and presses a clumsy kiss onto his lips. It lasts only for half a second but Ren knows the ghost of the feeling will stay with him for hours.

"I'm sorry," Rick whispers.

"It's fine Rick," Ren replies, warmth flooding his chest again.

There is another pause.

"I really liked it," Rick whispers again, so quietly Ren wonders if he heard it right. "I... really liked it..."

Rick starts to move again and this time Ren joins him, tucking himself back into his underwear and doing up his own shorts, before grabbing the empty bottle of cider and the torch and following him back up the tunnel to the mouth of the cave. The sun has set beyond the trees when they step out into the warm summer twilight. Ren anticipates the walk back to be awkward but there is a sudden conspiratorial companionship and tenderness between them; they walk close together and speak mindlessly about what going to art school will be like and how attractive the girls will be, but both know that neither cares what the girls will be like and the real truth is that it will hurt like fuck to be apart.

They reach the road. Their journeys separated there, Rick to go back to his mother and his angry father who will no doubt become angrier when Rick evades his questions about who he was with or why he was spending so much time with that Walker boy, and Ren to return to his room with Jem's obnoxiously loud music coming through the wall.

Goodbyes ended with a silent nod of the head and a smile, but Rick pulls Ren in for a hug this time. It's not a romantic hug; it is clearly supposed to be manly with a sharp three or so slaps on the back but it lasts too long – neither wants to let the other one go. Ren has an inexplicable lump in the back of his throat but he doesn't know why and he doesn't want to address the fact that this feels too much like a permanent goodbye.

They eventually let go of each other and Rick does a heel turn and starts walking quickly off down the road, not looking back. Ren stands there for a long while as he watches his friend's back retreat into the distance before eventually disappearing down a footpath. The loss feels physiological.


End file.
